INSANITY PLEA WEIGHED IN DROWNING ATTEMPT

San Diego 
An arraignment for a mother accused of trying to drown her baby in a bathtub in City Heights last week was postponed Wednesday, giving her lawyer time to research the case and decide whether to enter an insanity plea.

Whitney Renee Holman, 22, faces charges of premeditated attempted murder and felony child abuse in connection with an incident involving her 9-month-old daughter. Holman was arrested last week after police and paramedics found the infant unresponsive in the tub.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Margie G. Woods rescheduled the arraignment for June 11 and set Holman’s bail at $1 million. The judge then ordered the defendant to stay away from the baby if she posts bail.

In addition to the other charges, Holman faces allegations of causing great bodily injury to the baby, said Deputy District Attorney Michelle Ialeggio. If convicted, she faces life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Police said it was Holman who called 911 Friday afternoon, prompting police and paramedics to respond to the apartment complex on 42nd Street near University Avenue. Holman was arrested a short time later.

The baby was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital. A relative said Wednesday that the infant has been taken off a ventilator and is trying to breathe on her own.

“We pray for both of them,” said Andrea Burnett-Davis, the defendant’s aunt. She said Holman had expressed suicidal thoughts before the incident and reached out to San Diego police and county Child Protective Services. Holman did not receive the help she needed, the aunt said.

Defense attorney Pamela Lacher said outside the courtroom that she will explore the possibility of Holman entering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

“There are definitely some mental health issues that we’re looking into,” Lacher said. “It doesn’t seem clear to me that this is a person who would have ever intentionally intended to kill her baby.”